DA seeks MV homicide charge in Milford ambulance fatality

Wednesday

Jan 22, 2014 at 2:08 PMJan 23, 2014 at 10:37 PM

By Evan Allen THE BOSTON GLOBE

MILFORD — A woman accused of running a stop sign and causing a fatal ambulance crash Tuesday is expected to face criminal charges that include motor vehicle homicide by negligent driving, according to the Worcester district attorney's office.

A patient riding in the back of the ambulance was killed after the driver of the car clipped the ambulance, causing it to flip over.

On Wednesday, the victim's son remembered 58-year-old Karen Scott of Upton as an outspoken woman who loved to tell her two children how proud she was of them.

“It hasn't really hit yet, quite honestly,” said Joe Scott, 23, as he stood outside his home on Main Street in Upton, holding a platter of food his neighbor brought over.

The driver, Lisa Zemack, 61, of Framingham, will likely be ordered to appear in Milford District Court at a later date, according to prosecutors. She has three prior citations for speeding, in 1990, 1995, and 2005, according to Massachusetts Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Verseckes. The lights were off and no one answered the door at an address listed to her.

A surveillance video of the crash shot by a stationary camera at the Domino's Pizza across the street appears to show a Mercedes-Benz running a stop sign at the intersection of Green Street and clipping the back of the ambulance, which was heading west on Route 140, according to Milford police.

The Mercedes-Benz “caught the right rear quarter of the ambulance, caused the ambulance to spin 90 degrees clockwise,” said Milford Police Sgt. John Sanchioni. “Once it goes 90 degrees, physics and momentum cause it to flip over, a complete flip. … It almost went over the guardrail.”

Barry Desruisseaux, who owns Green Street Auto Spa at Green Street and Route 140, said he and his employees went running outside after the crash to find a terrible scene: the ambulance driver screaming into his radio that he could not get the patient out of the back by himself; car parts strewn across the road; and a shocked-looking woman stepping out of her crumpled Mercedes.

A fleet of ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars arrived within two minutes, he said, and quickly had the victim out of the back. But she was not moving, he said, when they loaded her into a second ambulance.

Scott was being taken from a dialysis appointment to a Northbridge nursing center, according to police. She was pronounced dead at Milford Regional Medical Center. Both Zemack and a paramedic who was riding in the back of the ambulance with Scott were treated and released at the hospital, according to Milford police.

Joe Scott said he had not been watching the news since the crash, had not heard much about Zemack, and did not know that criminal charges were likely going to be filed.

“I figured as much would happen,” he said. “Our family – we're more concerned about staying together.”

His mother had been sick for a long time, he said, and was staying in Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center at Northbridge. His is a quiet family, he said, but his mother was outspoken.

“She's very kind, loving, spoke what she was feeling. I think I got her genes as far as being straightforward,” he said. “She was always very happy to tell us how proud she was.”

Scott said he lives with his father, Allan, in Upton, and has a sister, Jen, 24, who lives in Woonsocket, R.I. Allan and Karen Scott were married for a long time, he said.

“They were happy together, and he loved her a lot,” he said.

Joe Scott's girlfriend, Lauren Buckley, 20, said the family is trying to take things one day at a time.

“She was just a really sweet woman — kind-hearted, loved her family more than anything,” Buckley said.

Scott's wake is scheduled for Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m., and her funeral is Monday at 10 a.m., both in Upton, Scott said.

In addition to likely criminal charges, police have issued Zemack citations for two civil infractions: failing to stop at a stop sign, and failing to grant right of way at an intersection.

The intersection where the crash occurred is a dangerous one, with wrecks commonplace, according to neighbors and police.